1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to plant husbandry, more particularly to a self moisturizing vertical array plant receptacle for presenting plant growth and both vertical and horizontal planes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There has been considerable interest in planters for presenting vegetation in a vertical plane for aesthetics and for use in environs having limited ground space, as evidenced by a considerable number of patents in this area.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,756,541, issued to E. Berger, July 31 1956, describes a container for growing strawberry plants which he points out is an improvement over previous strawberry barrels made by including holes in the sides of barrels made of wood or clay, filling the barrels with soil and growing strawberry plants in the soil so that the plants grow out of the barrels through side openings in the barrels. He points out that the bottom portions of the sides of the strawberry barrel slope inwardly so that the soil in the barrel tends to fall out through the openings. He therefore provides a plant container comprising four latticework sides joined together to make the container, each side of the container sloping inwardly toward the container's upper end so that the container is substantially larger in the horizontal cross section area at its bottom than at its top. This holds the soil in the container so that it does not fall out through the openings formed between the members of the latticework. Also included are inwardly extending horizontal shelves, located above the openings in the latticework to further prevent the soil from falling out of the openings immediately below the shelves. A pipe, having holes plugged by wicks of hemp, asbestos, cotton or other suitable material, is positioned vertically within the container, and extends through the center to the top, or above the top of the container to provide water for the plants. Guy wires may also be included across the interior of the container to provide rigidity.
U.S. Patent No. 3,063,196, issued to E. E. Pauer, Nov. 13, 1962, provides a plant receptacle with an improved moistening system comprising a vertical outer shell with a vertical central tube being partitioned into three sections. The top section includes an annular chamber for adding water which dispenses water at the top of the container to soil contained between the outer walls and the central tube. The next lower section of the tube includes openings for passing water to the soil surrounding that portion of the tube, and the lower portion of the tube is sealed, thereby providing no water to the soil. The bottom of the container has a plate with through holes for draining excess water in the soil to a container below which supports the plate. The contour shape of the outer shell can be varied as desired and the outer shell contains pockets with openings to the soil for inserting plants so that they are presented though the outer wall. The central tube provides differential watering, with a greater amount of water fed from the annular chamber to the upper portion of the soil which tends to dry more quickly, while the next lower portion of the soil is watered by the openings in the next lower portion of the tube. The water in the soil percolates down past the sealed portion of the tube, and on through the plate where it is delivered to the supporting container as overflow, tending to provide more uniform water distribution throughout the soil. Water is introduced to the receptacle by adding it both into the tube and the upper chamber. The holes in the middle level and bottom plate, also provide aerating access to the soil.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,685,204, issued to Russell L. O'Harra, on Aug. 22, 1972, provides a soil filled base, supporting a vertical body of any desired shape filled with sphagnum moss. The body includes through openings in its outer surface. The system is designed to support climbing vines such as ivy which extends roots along its length as it grows. The ivy is planted in the base, and as the vine grows, its leafy portion is clipped to the body by clips inserted through the through openings. Thus held to the surface of the body, the vine extends roots through the outer surface of the body and into the sphagnum moss by way of the openings in the outer surface, as it grows upward over the outer surface of the body. The sphagnum moss within the body or "totem" is watered from the top.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,161,085, issued to F. Wesley Moffett, Jr., on July 17, 1979, provides a container having flexible vertical walls with through openings. Each opening has a flexible cover slip over it to prevent escape of growing medium from the container, and to allow access to the growing media for insertion of seeds and for extension of plant growth through the openings. Tie rods running through the soil to opposite outer sheets contribute to holding desired shapes. For added strength, the container's walls are attached to steel posts driven into the ground upon which the container rests.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,268,994, issued to Muneharu Urai, on May 26, 1981, discloses a planter having a vertical frame filled with soil or other growing medium in the form of a cultivating body and set in a trough for collecting excess liquid. A reservoir at the top of the housing provides water for the growing medium for delivery to the medium by openings in the container, or by a wick.
At least one wall of the frame provides a vertically disposed opening to the cultivation body, the opening having an area greater than one half the area of the wall. The cultivation body comprises a composition which retains its integrity over the area exposed at the vertically disposed opening. For example, if the cultivation body is loose soil or sand, its exposed outer layer may be made from foam or other material which will hold the culture material together and provide air, ventilation and water drainage. This layer may also be made from textile, net, filament, porous board, silicic soil, clay, peat moss, sphagnum moss or other mosses, or an adhesive agent may be used to hold the cultivation body together. Within the housing, means for moistening the cultivation body include upwardly angled water retention boards, forming water holding troughs within the enclosure.
U.S. Patent No. 4,065,876, issued to F. Wesley Moffett, Jr., discloses a Portable Garden. It has a first embodiment comprising a vertical wire frame located on a horizontal wire screen, which is on a planar member that has a corrugated bumpy upper surface. Within the vertical screen is a waterproof cylindrical liner formed by rolling a rectangular section of vaporproof paper into the shape of a tube that is open on the top and bottom. Slits are cut in the waterproof tube's sides to permit placing seeds for sprouting through the openings. The tube is filled with soil and has within it water supplying tube.
A second embodiment includes a planar disk having openings. A vertical mast section at the center of the disk is surrounded by a hub and vertical, triangular plates mounted on the perforated disk. A plastic bag envelops this assembly. The bag is filled with earth, and includes tubing for adding moisture to the soil. Holes are cut into the sides of the bag for inserting seeds and for the shoots to emerge. The bag assemblies may be stacked one above the other, wherein the central mast penetrates the bottom of the bag above.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,404,767, issued to Carlos W. Enrich, on Sept. 20, 1983, provides a flexible vertical tube having a reservoir at its uppermost end, and a collection container at its lowermost end with a wick running between the two through a growing medium within the tube. The wick is disposed generally adjacent to the inner side of the tube so as to be adjacent to a vertical support member located outside the tube extending between the reservoir and the collection container. The tube wall, comprising flexible sheet material such as polyethylene, includes a vertical, external seam that is stapled to the support member. The wick, therefore, is located within the medium, close to the seam.
In one embodiment, openings are provided through the flexible wall of the tube to permit growth from seedlings in the medium to extend through the openings to the region outside the flexible wall.
In another embodiment, the tube is cut horizontally into sections, with the resulting medium filled segments alternately displaced from a vertical central axis so that they provide horizontal portions of medium for vertical plant growth. Because the wick is located close to the seam, near the axis of rotation for displacement of the segments, it is not damaged by either the cutting to create the segments, or by the rotating of the segments. Location of the wick at a farther wall from the plant growth site facilitates removal of a plant with minimum damage to its root system. Separation of the wick from the root end is facilitated by drawing the wick up and down before plant removal.
Prior art planters provide a growing environment for vertical planting by variously incorporating sloped wooden walls, bonded media, or cover flaps over flexible plastic outer walls to avoid loss of growing medium from the container. For moistening the growing medium they variously incorporate reservoirs at their top to provide pressure head, sloped inner-shelf troughs, partitioned central pipes with annular reservoirs, and various wick-water delivery systems. They incorporate flexible walls supported by cross bars or tie rods, and are bound around their outer surface by flexible rods, tubes or wire. Their containment is generally open on the bottom for drainage, incorporating strainer plates. They further include various vertical internal supporting members including tubes and vertical plates.